Milking-machine.



E. CAMERON. MILKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED ocr. 2. 1911.

Patented June v8, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I E. CAMERON.

MILKING MACHlNE.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.2. I911.

1,142,488. Patnted June 8,1915. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- outrun siineras PATENT curios.

EDWARD cAMianou, or s'r. KILDA, VICTORIA,A-USTRALIA.

MILKING-MACHINE.

Application filed October 2, 1911. Serial No. 652,248.

To all who 11bit may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD CAMERON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and residing at 13 Fraser street, St. Kilda, State of Victoria, Commonwealth of Australia,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Milking-Machines, of which the followin is a specification. Y

his invention relates to a mechanical milker in which the principle of a vacuum or reduced pressure is employed for the purpose of extracting the milk from the cows teats.

Among the objects which this invention has in view areto avoid the employment of india'rubber or the like kind oftubes and to substitute metal or metallic tubes which on account of being more easily and completely cleaned and for other reasons are preferable; to provide means for enabling such metallic tubing to be jointed and used, for such purpose; to provide means for mechanically manipulating the cows udder and adjusting the mechanism-to the physical irre'g'ularityfof the difierent cows; to provide more eifective means for application of the power of "the vacuum or reduced pressure 4 (herein terinedvacuum) when it has been created in operating the teat cup; to provide means for I extracting the milk from the udder by especial downward drawing mo- ;tion equivalentto or in imitation of the action "of the calf sucking andhand milking;

to provide ajjsui'table pulsator and a receivmg vessel into the latter, of which the milk is ?i ra w 1 1 iiiid from which it is delivered.

One embodiment of the present invention isillus'tratedin the accompanying drawings partly diagrammatical forming part of the specification in which like characters of reference denote corresponding parts Figure 1"is a general. diagraimnatic view showlng the general arrangement of a milking machine constructed accordihg to this 'ini'fention. v Fig. 2 is a perspective view ofpuls'a'tor. Fig. 3- is a central longitudinal sectional -view of tion between the ar'mT-and the milk tube.

Figs. 6 and are sectional and side views of the connection betweenthe main airltiibe and 7 the air tube leading togthe .claw. Fig. 8 is a view of one of the disk-joints showing the disks, the tube, and the clip fastening. Fig.

9 is an external side view and'Fig. 10 a sectional view of the same. Fig. 11 is an Specification of Letter Patent.

, pulsator. Figs. 4 and 5. are sectional and side views of the connecelevation of the milk receiver. Fig. 12 is aplan and Fig. 13 a view partly in section of the claw. Fig. 14: is a detail view of the sighttube. Fig. 15- is a vertical section of the teat cup. Fig. 16 is a section on line AA of Fig. 15. Fig. 17 is a section on line BB of Fig. 15. Fig. 18. is a section on line CO of Fig. 15. Fig. 19 is a section on line D D of Fig. 15. J

The present device may be more conveniently described when divided into groups of instrumentalities. These I will describe beginning with the structure whereby the milking deviceis held in operative position;

the second group. is formed by the main milk'tube and other tubes, cups, and connectionswhich co-act to extract themilk from the udder; the third group is the puls'ator and its attachments; the fourth is the re ceiver and its attachments; and the fifth is Patented June s, 1915.

the. motive power and its transmission. I a

a novel and valuable feature allowing and enabling india rubber tubes to be dispensed with. The arm is comprised ofmetallic" tubing with certain attachments thereto.

At the upper end of the armis provided a portion in the form of a'clasp 3, which joins and laps partially around the main milk tube. This is to obviate a fixed joint. The clasp-end 4 is pierced and formed with a thread, with which the arm-end 6 fits, the

thread being,so adjusted that it permits- 'movement sufiicient to, enable the working;

of the arm to the right or the left. The

clasp 3 is cast prefrably in brass or white metal. At itsshorter terminal. 7 it has a small barrel shaped part 8, carrying a lateral pin 9, whose ends project beyend the barrel. The other terminal 12 is curved slightly back upon itselfoso that it forms a catch. After the clasp has been placed 'around the main milk. tube over asuitable aperture a. wire clip 14, is applied, the bow of which engages the turned back catch 12' and the two necessary turning and adjustment.

. the ends of the metal tubes.

hook ends 15, engage the terminals of the pin 9, thus securing afirm attachment and connection between the arm and the main milk tube.

As the arm is formed of several lengths of tube 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23', pierced jointings have been devised to provide for 1tlfie e arm is joined to and suspended from the milk tube in the manner described above. A little below the attachment to the milk tube is the first pierced disk joint 24 and lower down the second disk joint 25 joins to the second length of arm tube. Then there is a third disk joint 26 and a sightglass 36, then the fourth disk joint 27 and attached thereto a short length of tube, .22, 23, leading to the claw. ferred to is either solid or sometimes spiral metal'tube (such as brass or white metal) may be employed.

The construction of the pierced disk jomt is illustrated in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. It consists mainly of a pair of disks 28, 29. One of these is soldered across near the end of one length-30 of the tube, the ends of which are closed, a-hole31 being bored in the tube to correspond with the hole in the center of the disk. Around this hole in the disk is a small cylinder or sleeve 32 projecting. The other disk is similarly fitted (but without the sleeve) to the lower piece of tube bored as before-described. The second disk is perforated with a hole adapted to receive the said cylinder or sleeve. A small ring of elastic material 33 is placed within-a recess 34 between the two disks, or the disks are ground and fitted closely so as to be milk and air proof. The two disks are held together by means of a suitable spring clip 35 having its ends engaging seats in the walls of the tubes. Sometimes the disk and tube are cast in one piece.

- The sight-glass 36 which is fitted to the arm consists of a piece of glass tube fitted at each end into collars 37 38, connected to The said collars are secured. together by two vwire bolts 39, 40 with nuts 41, 42 as shown in the drawings. 1

The clasp used to join the subsidiary air tube to the main air tube is illustrated in Figs. 6 and '7. The end of the subsidiary tube 58 is screwedat44 and on to it fits the tapped end 43 of the ring arm clasp. This is furnished with an india rubber lining 45 whose interior is large enough to slip over the air tube. 46. A hole 47 is. pierced through the "air tube at the desired point and the connection tightened by a wedge 48 or other suitable means.

The last length of metal tube 23 connects with the claw 49 which holds the teat cup. .Between the last disk joint 27 and the claw a lateral movement is provided for. The

All the tube re- 'tube'is in two parts 22, 23 each provided with collars 50, 51, and a rubber washer 52 between. One end 23 has a screw fitting into a threaded part on the other end 22 and both screw parts are adjusted to each other so as to allow the claw to move to one side or the other to meet variations in the cows udder.

chamber is joined on to the end of the arm tube with a tap 64 for opening and closing connection. The tubes between the teat cup and the claw .are all made of spiral metal tubing. These and the other spiral metal tubes referred to are constructed of spirally wound strips of metal with a very fine thread of elastic material therebetween. The jointings of the tubes to the teat cups and to the claw are efi'ected in the ordinary way by union couplings.

The present invention provides a more effective draw down motion incombination with the squeezing motion than has ever been attained by machines heretofore in use. 'To insure engagement of the teat well toward the base there is provided at the crown of the inner inflatable lining 65 (sometimes termed the lining) a rim or fold 66 folding to the outside but with shoulder projecting inward and the edge terminating in a flange 67 adapted to engage a groove 7 3 specially provided in the outer casing. The drawings show in Fig. 15, a sectional elevation of the teat cup and lining; Tn'Fig. 16 is a sectional plan taken at theline AA, in Fig. 17 is a sectional plan taken at the line BB, in Fig. 18 is a sectional plan taken at the line C-C, and inFig. 19 is a sectional plan taken at the line DD.

The inner surface of the lining is thicl-: ened as shownin Figs'lfi to 19. The wall of the lining thickens taperlike from the upper to the lower portion, being shaped as shown* inthe drawings. At the point 69 .the rigid ort'ion ceases, and from there to the bottom 0 the lining is formed of the bulb shape shown in the;drawing which causes it to act like a hinge. At the bottom 70 and at the top 71, the lining is securely fixed to the ease. At the bottom this is effected by a capped nipple 72.' At the top the fixture is obtained by the rubber flange 67 which fits into the annular groove 73 and is securely held thereby. The air tubes 5457 are connected with the upper part of the teat-cups the lining by the pulsatoryaction of the vacuum and the air pressure is forced inward at 74 the said forces also operating arrangement is to provide for an improved.

downward motion in addition to the usual squeezing motlon, the downward motion beingresultant from the described formation of the lining whereby the upper annular extremity issecured to the outer case, but so constructed that the fpld part rolls or folds over itself. The central body is rigid as far as downward motlon is concerned and moves bodily while the lower annular portion is in the form ofa hinge so that these three factors provide or permit a very advantageous downward drawing motion to be obtained, the main central body of the lining acting rigidly and approximating very closely to the action bf hand milking or the calf sucking with the correspondingly advantageous results. i

The pulsator is asmall oblong doublechambered metal box 77 positioned and fixed upon the air pipes 46, the ends of the air pipes being screwed into the two tapped holes 78, 79, of the pulsator, whose ends are specially thickened for that purpose. In the top of the respective chambers 80, 81, are two holes 82, 83, the hole 82 admitting atmospheric air to the air tube. A dome shaped lid 84 covers and slides upon the top of the box. The fu'n'ction'of the two chambers 80, 81 of the pulsator and thetwo air I pipes 4L6 is to enable a single pulsato'r to milk the set, one, two or more cows being. milked in bails on either side of the pul-' sator. When the dome 84 is over one port it 1s causing a vacuum 1n the teat cups on that side of the pulsator and when over the other port a vacuum in the teat cups on such other side of the pulsator, thereby causing an. intermittent air pressure on either side of the pulsator. Flexible pieces of metal tube 85 86 are secured to nipples 85, 86 of the lid 84 and have their other ends'connected with the source of exhaust. In the drawing only one of the metal tubes 85 is shown connected With the exhaust. The lid of the pulsator'is actuated by a wire 87 con- Y s nectmg w1th a portion of the receiver mechanism as hereinafter described.

In connection w th and IILOIdeI to assist in the advantageous worklng of the foregoing I have devised a special receiving vessel 88. This receiver isconnected at 89 to the main milk tube and at 90 to the'vacuum tank 91. A door 92 is provided at the top for the purpose of cleaning. Across the bottom and joined thereto is a piece of white or other metal tubing 93. .In the top ofthis tube is an aperture or port 94 and a corresponding one 95 on the opposite side,

.beinginlet and outlet respectively. Fitting apertures maybe closed at the same time.

When the pinion is revolved and revolves the inner tube the aperture therein will open the top port only while the other one remains closed, the milk flows into the inner tube and when that rotates and closes the top port,

opening the bottom port, the milk is discharged at the bottom port referred to.

In addition to the arrangement shown in Fig. 11 other devices may be employed whereby a connection-is effected between the port 94 and the tube 96 or between the port 94 and the port 95.

The pinion before referred to is set in mo-,

tion by a smaller pinion 99 gearing into it. The smaller pinion has a cone 100 operated from' the vacuum pump, for regulating speed. Upon it there is a crank pin 101 having a slotted head 102 to which is secured a rod 102, having its other end connected with toggle lever.103 converting the rotary into horizontal motion and actuating Wire 87 thus moving the lids of the pulsator backward and forward for the'purpose described. Y

A float valve 104 is provided in the receiver at the outlet to the vacuum tube 90 to guard against the overflow of milk into the said vacuum tube. a

In some cases when desired instead of the jointed metal tubing used as described for themilk arm spiral metallic tubing may be substituted. Different forms of thepower, the vacuum pump, the receiver and gear wheels, other than as described may be employed.

In operation the power (of whatever na ture) is started and begins working the vacuum pump which draws air out of the vacuum tank and in readiness for the cups to be placed on the cows. The belt gearing from the vacuum pump to the receiver cone is placed in position and thus works the cone. The slotted crank arm upon the receiver cone connects with and operates the inside the lining of the teat cup which-in combination with the pressure of atmospheric air. from the pulsating air chamber has the eflect of causing the milk to How doxvnthrough the small tubes and the claw into the milk arm tube and thence upward into the main vacuum tube which also is the main milk tube. The draw caused by the vacuum is constant while the operation of the atmospheric air through the tube pro- ,vided for that purpose is of a pulsating kind and this has the effect of imparting successive pulsations to the flexible lining formed and arranged as described, the pressure beginning at the top and progressing downward to the point of the teat. The pulsatory action as described is obtained by or through the reciprocating movement of the pulsator. When the valve lid of the same is over the right hand port the power of the vacuum benism to adapt itself to the physical irregularity of the diflerent cows, a number of swivel joints adapted .to enable the metallic tube arm to be adjusted up and down and sidewise, an air tube connected with the teat nanipulating mechanism, a pulsator connected with the air tube, a receiver connected with the main milk tube, a discharge device for the receiver, means for operating the pulsator from the discharge device and a vacuum receptacle connected with the receiver.

2. In a mechanical milker, the combination with the milk tube and the claw, of a clasp engaging the milk tube, and an arm having one end secured to the claw and the other end adjustablysecured to the clasp,

' said arm comprising metallic tubing having tubing having one or more swiveled joints,

' each comprising two pierced disks mounted 'to turn rotatively one to the other and a I spring clip forfjholding' the disks together,

as and-forthe-purpo'seiset forth.

swiveled joints.

3. Ina mechanical milker, an arm adapted to extend from the main milk tubeto the claw of'the machine and formed of metallic 4. In a mechanical milker, an arm formed of metallic tubing,'extending from the-main milk tube to the", claw of the machine, and

' comprising a swivele'd'joint in'the'arm and having parts] connected with each other by a threaded engagement so as to allow the claw to adjust itself as required to the physical irregularity of, diflerent cows.

- 5. In a 'mechanical milker, a milk tube, an arm formed of metallic tubing extending purpose set forth.

6. In a mechanical milker, an arm formed of metallic tubing extending from the main milk tube to the claw of the machine and having swiveled joints adapted to enable the said claw to be moved to right and left and up and down, a claw comprising an air chamber and a milk chamber, and air and milk pipes formed of metallic tubing and connected with the air chamber and the milk chamber respectively of the claw.

7. In a mechanical milker, a teat cup com-- prising a casing, and a lining therefor, said lining havinga bulb-shaped lower end reduced in thickness and connected with the casing, whereby it is permitted to move downwardly in said casing.

8. In a milking machine. a teat cup,'comprising a casing, and a tapering lining hav-' ing. two of its sides reduced in thickness, said lining having its ends reduced in thick ness and connected at its ends with the casing. j

9. vIn a mechanical milker, a teat cup, comprising a casing, and a tapering lining having two of its sides reduced in thickness, said lining having at its upper end a fold whose terminal is in locking engagement with the casing and provided at its lower. end with a portion reduced in thickness and secured to the bottom of the casing.

10. In a mechanical milker, a teat cup, comprising a casing having a bottom formed with an aperture therethrough, an out wardly projecting flange located toward the upper edge of said casing, said flange pro-,

viding an outer annular groove, 'a flexible lining having at its upper end an outwardly extending fold which terminates in a flange of increased thickness adapted to I engage within said annular outer groove in the casing, and having at its lower, end a bulb portion with an aperture through the bottom thereof, a nipple extending through the apertures inthe bottom of the casing and of the lining and having a flange on its upper end, and means for rigidly securing said nipple to said casing bottom, substantially as described.

11. In a mechanical milker, a teat cup,

com risina casin havin an annular groove at its upper end, and a tapering lining having two of its sides reduced in thickness, said lining having at its upper end an outwardly extending fold terminating in a flange engaging the groove of the casing, the lower end of the lining being reduced in'thickness and approximately bulb shape and secured to the bottom of the easmg.

12. In a mechanical milker, a teat-manipulating mechanism, an air tube connected with the teat mani ulatin mechanism, a milk receiver, a disc arge evice for the 'receiver,"a pulsator connected with the air tube, and means for operating the pulsator from the discharge device, of the receiver.

13. In a mechanical milker the combination of a milk receiver, a discharge device for the receiver, a pulsator, and means for operating thepulsator and the discharge deviceof the receiver conjointly, substantially as described. i

14, Ina milking machine, a teat cup comprising a case having a lining therein, whose walls vary in thickness progressively from the top to the bottom thereof, said lining being thicker in cross section at the bottom than at the top thereof, said lining having a relatively thin extension projecting from the top and bottom and having each free end fastened to said case, the upper extension folded inward to .form a teat gripping shoulder, and a vacuum forming meansconnected to said case adapted to pulsate said-v lining.

said cup, a pulsator arranged in the suction pipe, a milk tube connected with the teat cup, a vacuum tank, a receiver connectedwith the milktube and vacuum tank and having a discharge valve in its bottom, and means for simultaneousl operating the valve of the receiver and e pulsator.

16. In a mechanical milker, a teat manip-- ulating means, an air tube'conn'ected with the' teat manipulating -means, a ulsator with which the air tube is connecte a milk receiver, a rotary discharge valve at the bottom of the receiver, means for operating the valve, and means for operating the pulsator from the valve operating means.

Signed at Melbourne this twenty-second sa of August, A. D. 1911.

EDWARD CAMERON.

I In the presence of DAISY WmLiAMs, GORDON MARTIN. 

